Decorating surface and method of obtaining the same



July 14, 1936. v CAS-ro 2,047,670

DECORATING SURFACE AND METHOD 0F OBTAINING THE SAME Filed Nov. l, 1933 atente nly l, l

Iilloyd tf.. llanto, Detroit, Ill/Ilich., aasignor to @mord time morporation, Detroit.. lilith., a corporation of Michigan Alpplicatien ltlnvher ll, i933, aerial No. 696,214

vdepths of surfaces finished through the use of the foregoing mentioned process.

A still further object of my invention is the provision of a novel coating for a surface to be `finished in simulation of the surface appearance of natural objects, such as wood grains, rble, tile and the like.

In the drawing, Fig. l is a diagrammatical representation, in cross-section, of a piece of ma terial with one form of my coating applied thereto; Fig. 2 is a similar cross-sectional view, illustrating a modification of the coating applicationillustrated in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is an illustration of a reversal of the steps of my process in applying the coating to a web of material, such as paper. from which the coating in assembled form can be transferred to a surface to be decorated; while Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, showing the application of the coating modification illustrated in Fig. 2 to a web of material.

My invention contemplates the use of either half-tone or photogravure printing plates or cylinders, photographically obtained in the wellknown manner, and in connection with such use I prepare and use the usual ground coatings and specially prepared inks embodying a non-solvent aky material which will homogeneously mix with the other ingredients comprising the ink pigment and its vehicle. I control the pigmentation characteristics of the ink body in such manner that the surface of the flake particles will retain light reflecting properties which are in excess of the light reecting properties of the various materials comprising the body of the ink. As an example of such flake material, I have found that nely powdered bronze, aluminum and other metallic materials can be satisfactorily used in the ink while remaining undissolved and properly suspended in the ink mixture, and which will not deteriorate through chemical reaction nor have deleterious eects upon the printing plates or cylinders from which the grain pattern (tml. till-2m is transferred. The ink body may be formed with either an oil or nitro-cellulose base or other desired base, inl accordance with the characteristics of the material to be used in the ground coat and the nishing coat. In any instance, however, I 5

control the color density of the ink so as not to lose the optical effect of the light-reflecting properties of the flake material in the ink, while obtaining sumcient color density to match the natural 'grain colors.

I prefer to use a photogravure plate or roll, although a half-tone plate or roll or a typographie or lithographie process can be used with some degree of success, but the photogravure plate or roll affords a transfer having far greater tonal it variations, both in the variation of the light reecting characteristic of the Hake material used, as Well as in the variation of the depth of color of the pigment used inthe ink.

In edecting the decoration of the surface to be finished, I may first apply a ground coat of the proper consistency and color, to correspond with the underlying color of the surface appearance of the article to be simulated, and after the drying thereof I then obtain a transfer by applying the ink hereinbefore described to the printing surface wherefrom I obtain the transfer by the use of a gum roll, which, when passed over the ground coated surface, will effect the formation of the grained surface thereover. I then may protect the patternthus formed from oxidation and physical wear by the use of a transparent lacquer or a clear varnish or other suitable transparent protective material, or I may apply a second transfer over the first transfer while using a more dense or opaque ink. In Fig. 1 of the drawing I show diagrammatical in cross-section the coating just described, wherein the object to be decorated is illustrated by the slab S to which I have applied the ground coating GC, the color of which has been predetermined to imitate the general ground color appearance of the natural surface being simulated when the ground color is blended with the colors of the grain pattern. The two transfers or grain patterns are represented by the uniformly thick strata or layers GPI and GP2,

although comprising two separate transfers oi' variable thicknesses. 'Ihe finishing coat is represented by the transparent stratum or layer FC.

In some cases I have used a so-called undertoning plate or cylinder from which I obtain an undertone pattern which can first be applied to the ground coat and thereafter and thereover the application of the grain transfer thereto can be effected, and this undertoning transfer is color- 55 lil controlled to be lighter or darker in shade than the ground coat, as desired, and the undertone transfer may have flake material embodied in the ink thereof or the same may be omitted, depending upon the particular appearance of the surface which is being imitated. Such a surface would be protected as hereinbefore set forth by the use of a transparent coating of suitable material. In Fig. 2 of. the drawing I diagrammatically represent this coating assembly, wherein the various layers of materials herelnbefore described carry the same reference characters, and the undertoning layer is indicated by the reference character UT. This layer is shown as being interposed between the ground coating GC and the grain pattern or transfer. As an undertone transfer I have obtained very satisfactory results by deriving a plate or cylinder through the photographic reproduction of gum woods, which plate I used to obtain the first impression or the undertone transfer and I applied thereover a transfer of a walnut pattern, while disregarding any consideration as to the registration of the two impressions, a proper ground coat having been applied previously to the surface being finished. The undertone impression or transfer was effected by the use of the metallic ink, while the wal nut impression was .obtained by the use of a walnut graining ink carrying no metallic substance. In many cases, no special undertoning plate is required, for excellent results can be obtained in the following manner:

The surface to be finished is rst covered with a ground coat of the proper color density. A regular graining transfer is obtained then through the use of an ink, comprising a translucent vehicle carrying a metallic powder and a transparent coloring material, such as green, yellow, red or purple. This ink is applied first to the plate or cylinder carrying the grain pattern. 'I'he transfer is then effected by the use of a gum roll applied to the plate or cylinder and thereafter applied to the surface carrying the previously applied ground coat. Thereafter, a second graining pattern is obtained from either the same plate or cylinder or another graining plate or cylinder, and in which steps of the process the usual opaque graining ink or paste of the proper color is used. This second transfer is applied `over the first transfer without any particularregard being given to the registration of the two transfers, thus producing a distinct four-color effect, through the grain pattern tonal variations and color blendings between the brown coat, the metallic color, the transparent color and the color of the ink comprising the second impression. This decorative effect is protected by a transparent finishing coat.

I have found it desirable also to use a combined toning and graining plate or cylinder, which can be made by first etching the undertoning pattern upon the plate or cylinder surface, and thereafter effecting the etching of the graining pattern thereupon. The combined undertoning and grain pattern transfer is not illustrated in the drawing, but would comprise a single layer of marial in the form of a transfer, and any diagrammatic representation thereof in cross-section would conform substantially to the illustration in Fig. 1, but the variation in the thickness of. the layer GC would not be the same as that illustrated in Fig. 1.

Grained surfaces produced by the use of the foregoing method and its variations have a tonal depth not heretofore obtainable with any known method, in that the silvery optical effect of the finished surfaces of woods, such asbirch and maple, and the golden optical effect of woods, such as certain types of walnut, mahogany and other woods, can be reproduced. I also have found the method highly efficient in the reproduction of the surface appearance of other materials, such as certain types of leather and so forth.

In Figs. 3 and4 of the drawing, I show the coating assemblies illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 as applied to a web of material W, in reverse order,- that is, the finishing coat FC is first applied to the web, the transfer or grain pattern is then applied over the finishing coat and the ground coat GC is applied last, thus producing assembled layers of material comprising the final coating, which can be applied to the object to be decorated after the manner of a calcomania, and the materials used to form these coatings can be varied, as'desired. V

I am aware of the proposal to use a ground coating having a flaky material embodied therein, such as is disclosed in the Lang Patent 1,655,136, issued to the assignee of. the present application on November 29th, 1927, and while the method disclosed in said patent is effective in improving the results obtained by the graining process therein referred to, nevertheless such a process involves additional steps in the method 30 of graining referred to, thus increasing the expense in the use of such a process in producing grained surfaces. Furthermore, the effect of the use of the flaky material in the ground coat I have found is over subdued, and the sheen effect 35 is present throughout the grained surface, which in natural grains is not usually present through-y out the natural surface. By embodying the flaky material in the graining ink, the benet of the full reflective properties thereof is obtained, and the aggregate tonal depthof. the entire surface is increased in a manner pleasing to the sight.

I claim:

1. A wood grain surface, having embodied therein a plurality of coatings, which include a ground coating, a grain pattern embodying an ink having homogeneously mixed therein a metallic powder having light reflecting properties greater than the material forming the ground coating, and a protecting coating of material, such as transparent lacquer or varnish.

2. The method of obtaining a grained finish, which comprises applying a ground color coating to the surface to be finished, applying thereover a wood grain transfer of color material carrying 5f flaky particles having light reflecting properties greater than the light reflecting properties of the color material. and sealing said transfer with a coating comprising a substantially clear lacquer, varnish or the like.

3. A wood grain surface, having embodied therein a plurality of coatings, which include a ground coating, a grain pattern embodying a highly viscous ink having homogeneously mixed therewith naky material having light reflecting et properties greater than the other material forming the ink body, and a protective coating of material, such as transparent lacquer or varnish.

4. The method of obtaining a grained finish, which comprises applying aground color coating 71 to the surface to be finished, applying an ink carrying flaky material having light reflecting properties, said ink being applied in varying thicknesses to form a varying tonal grain pattern, and covering the above with a coating com- 7l prlsing substantially clear lacquer, varnish or the like. v

5. 'Ihe method of obtaining a wood grain iinish, which comprises applying aground coating to the article to be finished, applying an undertoning layer of pigment material to the ground coating, applying an open design over the undertone coating using an link having embodied therein a non-solvent flaky material having light reflecting properties, and then applying a-Iinishing and protective coating of substantially transparent material, such as lacquer, varnish or the like.

6. 'I'he method of obtaining a grained flnish. which comprises applying over a ground color a translucent wood grain transfer using an ink carrying a powdered metallic material having light reflecting properties greater than the light Areflecting properties of the ink body, applying a relatively opaque grain pattern over the said transfer, and applying, on top, a substantially transparent protective coating.

'7. The method of obtaining a wood grain finish, which comprises applying an undertoning layer of pigmented material over a ground color, applying translucent ink inopen design form, said ink embodying therein a powdered metal having light reflecting properties greater than the other materials comprising the ink, and applying on top a protective coating of substantially transparent material.

8. A decorative treatment simulating wood grain, said treatment comprising a plurality of coatings which include a groundcoating, a translucent protective coating and two open grain pattern lms, interposed between said protective coating and ground coating, one of said films emhodying color material homogeneously mixed therein a non-soluble flaky material having light reflecting properties greater than the other materials forming the iilm.

9. A decorative treatment comprising a graining paste lm in the form of anopen design overlying a contrasting groundY color in varying thicknesses for tonal variations, said design hav- -ing thereover a translucent finish layer, said treatment being characterized in that the graining paste contains a sufficient percentage of relatively highly light-reflective particles admixed therewith to impart to the less intense tone portions of the subject an illuminated appearance.

10. A decorative treatment, comprising a ground color, an open design overlying the ground color, contrasting therewith and containing minute highly light-reective particles, and an open design in color material, which latter design also contrasts with the ground color and partially conceals both it and the first design, whereby areas between those of greatest and least tonal depth appear illuminated.

LLOYD V. GASTO. 

